AUSTRALIA has asserted itself as the dominant nation in world sailing with 470 sailors Malcolm Page and Mathew Belcher winning our third gold medal of the regatta.

The pair did it in style before Page confirmed he was closing the book on a superb career which started 32 years ago.

But the Sydney-born sailing legend revealed he was contemplating Olympic retirement four years ago.

He said claiming 470 gold with ex-skipper Nathan Wilmot in Beijing 2008, set the wheels in motion for a premature end to a stellar career.

But when Belcher called a meeting in a coffee shop in Qingdao after Page claimed Olympic gold, he unwittingly set the wheels in motion for an Olympic title defence.

Belcher - a media boat driver at the Beijing Games - was so inspired by Page that he wanted to become his 470 skipper knowing Wilmot was not going to participate at the London Games.

"He proposed to me to do the next four years," Page said. "I said wait, give me three months before I could give you a solid answer because I didn't want the emotion to make it a wrong decision.

"But I knew at the start of the last four year campaign that it was going to be my last Olympic campaign.

"I would love to still stay involved in the team but it just won't be as an athlete.

"So, hopefully you'll see me at another Olympic Games, but it won't be wearing sticky wets.

"I achieved so much more than I've ever expected especially when I decided to do an Olympic campaign."

Earlier, the Aussie crew of Belcher and Page were in a dog fight with the British from the outset in a classic tacking duel.

The Aussies and British were so far ahead of the other crews heading into the final race they were the only crews capable of winning gold. And Australia began with a crucial four-point advantage, meaning they only had to beat the British to win.

But early in the race the British crew of Luke Patience and Stuart Bithell streaked to the lead and the gold medal position.

Charging to the second last mark, both crews tacked more than a dozen times in a bid to gain the crucial edge.

Then, rounding the last mark, disaster struck the British crew when they incurred a penalty and had to turn around.

It proved the decisive moment that handed gold on a platter to Belcher and Page.

They finished second in the race to Croatia but it didn't matter. They only needed to beat the Brits, who finished fourth.

As they crossed the line, the Aussie contingent, including the crew's family, went wild on the shores of Weymouth.

The win made Page Australia's greatest Olympic sailor after he won back-to-back crowns and cemented the sailing team's place as Australia's London Games saviour.

"It's a special feeling it was a really tough battle,'' Page said.

"They brought their A game and we had to work really hard for it.''We came home with what we wanted.''Coming away with the three (gold) locked in is amazing.''

From the start, the Aussie game plan was clear: prevent Great Britain from putting a minimum one boat in between their Antipodeans rival to claim an upset.

Britain tried working with the traffic of other boats out of medal contention but that ploy favoured the ocean-smart Aussies.

It was a fitting finale for Page after he signalled his intent to retire from the Olympics before competing in his third Games campaign.

Page and Belcher's climb to become 2012 Olympic champions from a world ranking 43 to No. 1 in 2010 and being undefeated at Weymouth counted for everything while the British pondered what may have been.

The British crew - close friends of the Australian pair - failed to pull off arguably the sailing shock of the London Games because Page and Belcher shut down every ocean move.

Touchingly, the parents of both crews sat together and embraced as the Aussies clinched gold.

Bithell, 25, said he and Patience had studied Page and Belcher's systems before the medal race after an inspirational talk by Britain's all-time best Olympic sailor Ben Ainslie.

It still wasn't enough to beat Australia.

"We watched a few videos of match races," he said.

"They are two of the best match racers in the world.

"We discussed all the different techniques, the grey areas, the win-win situations, how to sting opponents with penalties. The dark arts."

But the Australians were emphatic in victory.

Hand-picked by revered Australian sailing coach Victor Kovalenko, Belcher was overjoyed by the triumph.

Ukraine-born Kovalenko has now coached Australia's sailors to seven Olympic gold medals, two silvers and four bronze since the Sydney 2000 Games as his consistent 470 stable again proved why he is regarded as the best boss on the planet.

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